Fantasy: Bank on pacers and batters

In the fourth match of the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals will lock horns. This match can be deemed the game of the weekend as Hyderabad and Rajasthan are two of the most balanced sides on paper. 

Hyderabad and Rajasthan have met each other 16 times in IPL, and nothing separates the two. Both have eight wins each. However, in Hyderabad, Rajasthan have won only two, which came against the now-defunct Deccan Chargers. In three matches against Hyderabad, they have lost all. 

Regarding player availabilities, the hosts play their first game without the services of Aiden Markram, their official captain, Marco Jansen, and Heinrich Klaasen. 

Ground Details

In IPL since 2016, Hyderabad has been one of those venues that favor the bowlers, especially the pacers. Pacers have bagged a wicket every 19.2 balls while conceding 7.9 runs per over—the best among the current venues allotted for IPL 2023. 

72.4 percent of the wickets belonged to the quicks, the highest percentage of wickets bagged by pacers at a venue. On the other hand, spinners have snaffled a wicket every 27.5 balls. Only in Mohali the strike rate is worse (28.3).  

On average, the venue has witnessed 159 runs in the first innings. The average first innings scores are lower in Chennai (153) and Ahmedabad (154). In the 30 IPL matches played since 2016, teams batting first and second have had an equal share of wins. However said, the toss has not been captain friendly. In 40 percent of the matches, teams winning the toss have lost the game, the worst among all venues. 

Suggested Team

While you could go for the above team, you can choose your team from Cricket.com's Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.

Captaincy Suggestions

For small league: Jos Buttler (capt), Trent Boult (vice-capt)

For grand league: Rahul Tripathi (capt), Yuzvendra Chahal (vice-capt)

Stats that matter 

-Between Bhuvenshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, and Trent Boult, there is an experience of 149 powerplay wickets (1-6) in IPL. Bhuvi leads the list with 55, Sandeep with 54, and Boult with 40. In terms of strike rate, Sandeep's 25.4 tops the list. Economy-wise, Bhuvi (6.0) has been the miser one.

-In the 2022 IPL, Mayank Agarwal managed to score only 196 runs at an average of 16.3 and 120.5 strike rate. His average was the worst among batters who had faced 150+ balls in the 2022 season.

-Abhishek Sharma scored 426 runs at an average of 30.4 and a strike rate of 133.1, the most runs by a Hyderabad batter in the 2022 IPL. He had eight scores of 30+ in the season. 

-In the IPL since 2021, Jos Buttler has 1117 runs at an average of 50.8 and a strike rate of 149.9. Only KL Rahul (1242) has scored more than him. 

Grand league punts 

-In the 2022 IPL, Rahul Tripathi scored 413 runs at a staggering strike rate of 158.2. Among the top three batters with 250+ runs, no batter had a better strike rate than him. He was among the eight players with a strike rate of 140+ against both pacers (165.1) and spinners (145.65). A minimum of 100 runs against both.

-Yuzvendra Chahal's record against a few Hyderabad batters has been exceptional. He has dismissed Mayank six times in 10 innings, and most of Hyderabad top order batters average less than 10. Abdul Samad averages 1.0 in two innings, Harry Brook averages 3.5 (2), and Abhishek averages five in two.  

Top Criclytics projections

Probable XI 

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Mayank Agarwal, Abhishek Sharma, Rahul Tripathi, Harry Brook, Glenn Phillips (wk), Abdul Samad/Sanvir Singh, Washington Sundar, Adil Rashid, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (c), Fazalhaq Farooqi, T Natarajan

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Jason Holder, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal